Gaussian Blur & A Small Announcement

I'm excited to announce that I've finally switched my URL over to amandaliew.com! As I've fallen in love with blogging and photography more over time, I figured it was finally time to make the commitment of getting my own website. I hope this keeps me all the more committed to blogging and continuing this journey! Due to my limited time, the majority of my photographs have been taken as sets to illustrate a dinner, a setting, or a portrait session. Since my Digital Photography class, I haven't spent much time playing with Photoshop since Camera Raw suffices for quick batch editing. However, I decided to take some time to play with this singular image and thought it would be interesting to walk through the process step-by-step. The original image in DNG form is below:

At first glance, it's a little tilted, and the background clutters the image significantly. In the moment I could have taken this photograph with a different aperture to focus better on the subject and blur out the background, but alas I can't go back in time.

My first few steps were done in Camera Raw where I changed the image to grayscale and increased the contrast to make the lampost's deep black metal stand out more.

At the next point, I entered Photoshop and created a duplicate layer of the background. I then converted the layer for Smart Filters and applied a Gaussian Blur  (10.1 pixels) to the entire image.

Of course, I didn't want the entire image to be blurred, so I began to paint away and "erase" the Gaussian blur on my subject, the lampost. For this process, I highly recommend zooming in very close and also clicking frequently. There's nothing more frustrating than painting a good portion, screwing up the end, and then having to undo the entire command. If you look in the left hand corner of this photoshop image, you'll see there is a white box and a black box. When the black box is on top, your paintbrush is removing the Gaussian Blur. When you flip the two so the white box is on top, you can replace the blur in the same way. For this image it was easier to erase the blur in large strokes and then replace it with smaller strokes to be more detailed. In other words, it's easier to trace around the edges rather than trying to guess where the subject is. 

When completed, the lampost now stands out much more than the background. Of course, I'm still learning quite a bit with this process and when taking a few steps back, I wonder if I was a little too heavy-handed on the Gaussian Blur and whether it looks like an "authentic" depth of field. Additionally, the trouble with a process where you are carefully selecting an image is that inevitably it's going to look a little fake and "pasted in." For example, at the very bottom of the lampost you can see I got a little lazy and unblurred a little too much of the area surrounding the foot. Still learning, though! As usual, I always welcome tips and feedback.

MEGU New York: Friends in high places lead to magnificent spaces

Taste: 4.5 / 5Ambience: 4 / 5 Would you want to eat there again?: Yes Was the price worth it?: No

"Do you have dinner plans for tonight?" And that was the little text I got which led to the best Friday night surprise yet. I first met my friend Amalie at Penn through Greek InterVarsity, but since moving to New York, we've become so much closer thanks to joining the same church and running in the same communities. Though she would certainly laugh that she's a "friend in high places," she does in fact hold a crazy cool job, and her boss had an unused gift certificate to Megu, an asian-fusion restaurant, that was going to expire that day. Ever so flattered I would be considered for such a cool outing, we quickly made reservations and battled the freezing cold to make it there alive. We were rather surprised by the fact that we could make a same-day reservation at the Tribeca location and by how empty it was (only half of the tables were filled), but we wondered if that was attributed to the awful weather outside. 

Because we had a restaurant voucher, the 5-courses were already pre-set. We started out with the "Crispy Okaki Aspargus" - Japanese cracker battered asparagus which was presented in such a fascinating way. The savory crackers added such an interesting (and familiar) flavor to the asparagus which we both enjoyed quite a bit. We were surprised, though, because it seemed to be quite a filling appetizer and first-course. Next, we had the Seaweed Salad which was light and surprisingly flavorful.

Our third course was a few different components. We had goat "meatballs", roasted peppers and scallops (not pictured). The goat meatballs were rich in flavor, but not overly oily which I appreciated.

For our entrees, we were given a few choices and I selected the kobe beef with caramelized onions. Little  did I know that it would come on a lava stone and be lit on fire. Casual. I snapped as many pictures as I could and absolutely love how the photographs turned out. Fire is such an interesting subject - it's constantly moving and you can never truly capture it's essence, can you? At the same time, the blend of blinding whites, oranges, yellows, and blues is such a beauty you can't find anywhere else.

I was amazed at how tender the kobe beef remained - I suppose the quick sear served its purpose to caramelize the onion and the outside of the beef, leaving the inside a perfect medium-rare. It was an excellent portion size as well.

Amalie selected the pork chop with (ginger?) sauce on it. She loved it just as much, although there were no flames on this one!

At last, the 5th course of our meal was dessert! Little did we know that we would have not one, not two, but three components to desserts. We each got a mini creme-brulee, a multi-layered green tea crepe cake, and a chocolate lava cake. The creme brulee and chocolate cake were quite standard, so I was most excited to dig into the green tea crepe cake. However, I found that the texture was a little mushier than expected. The cream, without a doubt, was phenomenal and had a subtle tea bitterness to it which I thought made it more authentic. However, I think the crepe layers were in fact too thin and therefore became soggy from the creme. The creme brulee was the winner of the trio, but then again I tend to love creme brulee more than other desserts. (Unfortunately at this point, my DSLR died and I resorted to my iPhone)

And of course, who can resist a 6th course of late night lattes?All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. However, by the end of it we started wondering whether or not we would have found the meal worth it had we paid for it in-full. The voucher on Gilt Group was $119 total, so at roughly $60/person for a 5-course meal, it would be more than reasonable. However, at a full-price of an estimated $200 or more, we agreed that it wasn't worth $100/person. Of course, the meal was still fantastic overall and if money is not an object for you, I would recommend it. Many thanks to Amalie for bringing me along and treating me to such a wonderful spontaneous night!

In terms of photography, I tried to use my 50mm prime lens, but with such dim lighting and social acceptable behavior severely limiting me, the photographs didn't turn out nearly as well as I had hoped. The ISO had to be blasted so high just to get some sort of focus, and even then I was too close to get the full subjects in focus. If any other photographers have some experience shooting in restaurants, I would love to learn more! Namely, how do you get a decent photo without completely embarassing the rest of your party? Haha luckily Amalie was a good sport through and through and even helped me move plates around so I could get better shots.

City Living | City Loving

I've realized that despite moving to New York City eight months ago, I still have yet to actually blog about this city. When I first moved here, I was so awe of this city. Even after two summers here, this city blows my mind time and time again with its endless beauty, mouth-watering restaurants, and a whole new breed of people. Without even realizing it, I started hashtagging my Instagram accounts with #citylivingcityloving - it just sounded so right, and I was positive I had heard it before. Soon, my friends started making fun of me with #countrylivingcountryloving and all sorts of ridiculousness. When I clicked on the hashtag itself, I realized that apparently I'm the only person in the world who uses this saying. So hey, in the spirit of that, I've started a new category on my blog to feature NYC at its finest: City Living | City Loving.

13 Reasons Why Going to Amanda's Birthday Party Will Dramatically Improve Your Life And Keep You Informed On the Crisis in Syria!

1. My birthday marks the first day of Spring and the official end of this eternal polar vortex!
2. I've worked super hard at curating the PERFECT playlist and can't wait until I show you guys!
3. There's almost a 100% guarantee that there will be baked goods on baked goods on baked goods
4. If you also happen to have a severe allergy to alcohol like me, no worries at all because instead of waking up hung over the next day you'll...
5. There's always a reason to celebrate when I was born an enormous 10 pounds and 1 ounce which is essentially 150% of the average birth weight. High achiever from Day 1? Sounds like it.
6. Chances are, I'll get overly excited and hashtag #citylivingcityloving non-stop (like seriously - I'm the ONLY person on Instagram using this hashtag...)
7. At some point in the night you'll probably have to take a group photo and learn to sorority squat and skinny arm like a pro
8. We just bought these insulators for our apartment, so if your landlord is cheap and you need a warm place to stay - we've got you.
9. Rumor has it Miley Cyrus will be in attendance and she may or may not be enforcing the rule "We Can't Stop"
10. There will probably be a few moments where someone dances on an elevated surface
11. You'll get a chance to meet someone new in New York City and that someone could just be your best friend or soul mate
12. If you can't make it, it's totally fine!
13. But if you can make it, it's even better!

Hope to see you there!

Amanda & Merry's Apartment 57 East 97th Street, Apartment 2 Saturday, March 22 9:00PM until we can't wake up #flawless

RSVP to the party below: [googleapps domain="docs" dir="forms/d/1gMRmgyczOst7L9cyyLNODPM48PBs1iQPNYfLeb3cBmc/viewform" query="embedded=true" width="760" height="500" /]

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Insinuations and connotations: the cycle of imagery

As a fairly conservative person, I look at the first image and I'm instantly uncomfortable. There's an intimacy and rawness that seems far too private to be displayed to the public much less enlarged to that size. Yet, that's the fascinating thing about framing - it can completely change the context. With such a close up shot, the image clearly depicts bubbles on a body, but which part? The question itself insinuates other connotations. Yet, that's simply my arm - much more innocent than the picture would suggest. Despite taking the picture myself and knowing very logically what the image depicts, even my own mind jumps in a split second to assumptions, shock, judgement, and more. I remember during the Vancouver riots, a photograph blew up on the internet.

(Rich Lam/Getty images)

It seemed to be evidence of a couple kissing on the ground amidst the chaos surrounding them - they seemed at peace and in their own moment. Yet, from a different angle, the story told another story. In truth, the girl had fallen down during the stampede and was overwhelmed and crying. Her boyfriend was attempting to calm her down the best he could. This still fascinates me because it goes to show how there's a continuing cycle of how life and art affect one another. The public saw that photo, and perhaps you see my photo above, and we all make assumptions based on...imagery we have seen before. It's so interesting how over time images, colors, words, sounds, and so much more can collectively impact all of our thoughts.

In terms of photography, I wasn't willing to risk damaging my DSLR, so I used my iPhone 5 and the Camera+ app to take these two shots (and edit!). I'm constantly amazed at the power of our cell phones - I can't believe the amount of detail that can be captured.